1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tape printer and a tape making method having a numbering function for serially incrementing numbering character strings having an arrangement sequential order, such as a numerical, alphabetical, or Japanese syllabary order, and printing the strings in units of a tape.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, there have been proposed various techniques related to tape printers and tape making methods, the printers each having a numbering function for serially incrementing numbering character strings having an arrangement sequential order, such as a numerical, alphabetical, or Japanese syllabary order, and printing the strings in units of a tape.
For example, a conventional tape printer has a configuration as described herebelow (see Japanese patent application laid-open No. H07-276746 (1995-276746), for example). The configuration comprises input means for inputting characters, symbols and a variety of instructions (commands); storage means for storing data, such as characters and symbols, having been input from the input means; display means for displaying data of the storage means; and printing means for printing data, such as characters and symbols, on a tape used as a printing medium. The configuration provides functionality that serially increments a numbering character string having an arrangement sequential order of, for example, a numerical, alphabetical, or Japanese syllabary order and that prints the string in units of a tape. More specifically, the configuration further comprises specification means, setting means, and control means. The specification means specifies the numbering character strings of data stored in the storage means. The setting means sets a numbering count of the numbering character strings specified in the specification means. The control means provides on the display means distinguished displays in two cases for allowing the setting means to set the numbering count depending on whether or not the numbering character string is specified in the specification means.
Thus, in the tape printer, the distinguished displays of the numbering count setting are provided on the display means depending on whether or not the numbering character string is specified. As such, the configuration has the advantage of enabling explicit recognition regarding the existence or absence of the specification of the numbering character strings in data to be printed.
However, in the conventional tape printer, whether a desired last numbering character string is printed is not known before the string is actually printed after the user has set the numbering count. As such, problematic cases occur in which the process terminates either upon printing of numbering character string of one before a desired last numbering character string or upon printing of an unnecessary numbering character string of one after the desired last numbering character string in the sequential order. In addition, when printing a numbering character string on a tape, printing of each page is performed each time after a print buffer is renewed. For this reason, when a print-disabling condition occurs in which, for example, the number of characters cannot be printed on a tape having a set length during print operation, print output is aborted whereby to disable printing the numbering character strings to the lowest-order one thereof desired by a user.